New Woodward Youth Corporation (WYC) President: Aaron Peterson

When Jerry Anderson made the difficult decision to retire as WYC President, the search was on for his replacement. Starting July 6th, Aaron Peterson became the person that has the responsibility to fill those big shoes. As a native of Madrid, Iowa, Aaron attended Coe College where he ran track and played football, earning his degree in Business Administration and Sports Management in 1994.

This first exposure to Woodward Academy was in 2005 when he agreed to be one of four initial members of the mentor program. He worked with students, offering advice on the importance of having a good work ethic, and helped them develop life skills such as budgeting. Aaron is currently the President of Lonewolf Financial, a company that he founded 11 years ago. He’s been married to his wife Jodi for 16 years, and together they have two children.

Presidential Blueprint // The Legacy of Jerry Anderson

This story was originally published in Volume 38 of the Knightly Knews that you can download here.

More than any other person, Jerry Anderson has built Woodward Academy into what it is today. He has been here from the beginning. Literally. On July 10, 1995, when Woodward Academy opened its door to its first four students, Jerry was one of the original 13 staff members. Twenty one years later, on July 5, 2016, he stepped down as President of the Woodward Youth Corporation (WYC), leaving a legacy in tact that is comparable to none.
   
When our students walk through one of the four school buildings, they can thank Jerry. Our football team competes at their renovated stadium on Friday nights thanks to Jerry. Our baseball team runs the bases at Knights Field, and our students have jobs with Knights on the Move because of Jerry. Today, Woodward Academy has 262 students on campus and is a known industry leader… thanks to Jerry.

A Look Back at 2015

This past year, we celebrated our 20th anniversary and admitted our 5,000th student, making 2015 a truly memorable year at Woodward Academy. We encourage you to take a look back at some of the best stories from the year.

On the athletic front, our basketball team made an unprecedented run to state and competed at Wells Fargo Arena, a powerlifter dominated high school Nationals and became a runner up World Champion in Prague, Czech Republic, and the cross country team qualified for State for the 4th time since 2006.

We graduated 30 students in May, produced our first music video, and launched Facebook to share all of these moments. The dedicated staff members are to thank for all of these moments, and we've highlighted some of them in our I Am Building Woodward Academy video series. After the break, we have provided links to all of our blog stories from the past year.

The First 20 Years...

The following article was featured in our 20th Anniversary edition of the Knightly Knews. You can download a pdf version of the publication by clicking here. 

On July 10, 1995, the Woodward Academy opened as an all-male residential treatment facility for boys ages 12-18. The 1980’s and 1990’s saw a rise in juvenile crime across the country, and Governor Branstad wanted to address the problem. Woodward Academy was created in response to legislation passed by the Iowa Legislature calling for the establishment of rehabilitation programs for troubled youth. On that day, Woodward was one of two “boot camps” established in the state (the facility in Davenport no longer operates).

The four students and 13 staff members who started on that day had no idea that over the next two decades, Woodward Academy would become one of the best juvenile treatment facilities in the nation. Those humble beginnings have grown into a school that has a student population of 265 students and that employs 235 staff members. Every day, students receive the clinical services they deserve, are offered an educational curriculum from certified teachers, and are given opportunities to excel in high school athletics. Although Woodward Academy is labeled a treatment facility, it operates like a private prep school where students are proud to be Knights.

On this Day 20 Years Ago...

From Executive Director, Ryan Santi:

Twenty years ago today 4 students and 13 staff started our journey to where we are today.  Out of those four students, the first graduate is now a successful chiropractor, married and raising a family.  Yesterday afternoon we admitted our 5000^th student.  Truly an amazing feat we should all be proud of.  Especially in a day and time where most programs do not make it 5000 days let alone being able to admit 5000 students.

 

When I was a TCM in 1996 I wasn’t thinking about the impact I was having every day on our students’ decisions and ultimately their lives.  As I have grown in this company and seen the greatness we have achieved, that impact has become all the more important and a daily focus.  Please understand that every moment on this campus matters and you are trained and prepared to meet the demands of anything that comes your way.

 

Thank you for all you do for Woodward Academy and Sequel Youth and Family Services.  We are the best residential facility in this company and I believe the best in the nation at what we do.  I challenge each of you to make the next 20 years better than the first! 

The Dedicated Staff of Woodward Academy // 546 Years of Service

In a field where high staff turnover is often the norm, Woodward Academy has excelled in building a solid team of dedicated staff. In fact, at the end of 2014, WA had 58 staff members with 5+ years of experience (pictured). That equates to 546 years of service, an unprecedented amount of experience that very few facilities across the United States would be able to claim.

Many started their career working with students at Woodward Academy and they have found that they love what Woodward Academy provides. This image was created as the latest spread in our quarterly publication, the Knightly Knews. In that edition, Ryan Santi, Executive Director, said that "a program can only be as good as the staff that it employs… [we] have taken great steps in allowing our staff to make Woodward Academy a career destination. We provide great training and experience to our staff… [and] have always done our best to identify the up and comers, those who have the 'it' factor."

This summer, we will celebrate our 20th anniversary. Over the past two decades, Woodward Academy has built a team who strives to serve as the standard for how juvenile residential care should operate. This team is responsible for building what exists today at WA, and many will move on to help guide the infrastructure for tomorrow.

Turning 19...

Today, Woodward Academy turns 19 years old. Established in 1995, the first day started with 4 students and a handful of staff. Over the course of the next month, our first dorm was filled and we have grown ever since. Today, Woodward Academy has a student capacity of 256 students and employs over 200 staff members. As of today, 4,650 students have entered the doors at Woodward Academy and the Knights are as strong as ever.

Over the past 19 years, not only have we served a lot of students, but our services to those students have improved as well. Our clinical services are top notch, we are continually helping more students graduate from high school or earn their GED certificate, and Woodward Academy competes in 6 sanctioned high school sports.

The list of activities we provide, accomplishments we've gathered, and lives that have been changed by being a Knight is immeasurable, but the source of our success is very clear. It lies in the staff who invest their passion and energy on a daily basis, and in the students who are willing to take a look at themselves and change their lives. Happy Birthday.

Happy 18th Birthday Woodward Academy

This morning, Executive Director, Ryan Santi, sent out an email recognizing the date that Woodward Academy opened. In the email he reflected at how far we've grown over 18 years. We thought that we'd share that email with everyone.

From Ryan Santi:

On July 10^th 1995 the Woodward Academy Gators opened the doors to our first four students and 13 staff into a brand new highly structured program for the state of Iowa.  Eighteen years later the Woodward Academy Knights have grown to 251 students in residential treatment, ended the school year with a record 70 students in our day school, and 224 staff working on campus. 

Our growth and excellence in treatment is a testament to the quality staff we have on campus and the commitment we show to our kids and customers.  Doing the right thing for our kids, customers, and staff will continue to pay big dividends for WA! 

If you run into Jerry Anderson, our Woodward Youth Corporation President, please take the time to thank him for all he and the Youth Corp Board do for Woodward Academy.  Without them Woodward Academy would not be what it is today.  Take some time today to think about our history and what role you will play in our future.  

Happy 18^th Anniversary Woodward Academy!    

New Admissions Director - Guthrey Fritz

Over the past year, Woodward Academy has seen a lot of promotions and career advancements in many of its supervisor positions. As WA has expanded its reach to more students through the Phase 5 house and now providing services through Woodward Academy Community Based Services (WACBS), additional positions have been needed.

Back in February, we introduced Ryan Santi as the new Executive Director of Woodward Academy after Bill Dean moved into a Vice President of Operations position at Sequel Youth Services. At that point, Shawn Hollenkamp took over as Admissions Director on an interim basis and is now Executive Director of WACBS. Today, we're please to introduce WA's new Admissions Director: Guthrey Fritz.

Guthrey Fritz started his career as a Youth Counselor at Woodward Academy in 1997, after graduating from Buena Vista University with a degree in Criminal Justice. Since then, he has held several roles in his sixteen years at Woodward, including Youth Counselor, Training Officer / Admissions Assistant and Program Director as has experience in all three of the Academy's programs. Mr. Fritz has been Head Coach for the Woodward Academy Powerlifting team since 2003 and holds 8 National Championship titles. In June 2013, Mr. Fritz became the Woodward Academy Director of Admissions.

Knight Pics website

We try to do our best to keep our readers informed of what is happening at Woodward Academy. We also pride ourself on having a graphic, and some times additional images, for each blog post. It helps send a visual message for the post that can go along with the content. But only a handful of the pictures ever make it to the blog. Most images from sporting events or other events on campus never make the cut. That is why we have our Knight Pics website. You can access the website by clicking here and some time catching up on the latest sporting events or past campus posters.

New Executive Director - Ryan Santi

To start the new year, we wanted to introduce Woodward Academy's new Executive Director, Ryan Santi. Although new the position, Ryan has played an integral part in the decision making process for years as a part of the management team. He began his career at WA in 1996 as a youth counselor and eventually a Program Director of a dorm. After taking time away to be a Juvenile Court Officer, Ryan returned to Woodward Academy in 2005 as Education Manager and eventually Admissions Director, where he has made his largest contribution.

Since '05, Ryan played an important role as WA expanded to its eighth dorm and current student capacity of 248 students. He also helped expand WA nationally with some students now attending from California and Washington D.C. As Executive Director, Ryan looks forward to overseeing the facility that he has helped grow. With Ryan's promotion to Executive Director, other changes occurred as a result. Shawn Hollenkamp transferred to the Admissions Director and Trent Fleshner was promoted to Group Living Director.

Jerry's Notes: In the Beginning...

The Knightly Knews always likes to look at Woodward Academy history in order to step back and respect where we have come from.  The following article of Jerry's Notes was original published in Volume 21 of the Knightly Knews.  If you didn't have a chance to see it, click here and download a .pdf version of it.

Jerry's Notes are intended to pass along some WA history and observations of life on campus.  To bring you up to speed, Jerry Anderson is an original employee of Woodward Academy and has held several positions including that of business manager.  He is currently on the Board of Directors for the Woodward Youth Corporation and had the second education center named in his honor.

Read more after the jump.